Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass asked the City Council Sept. 2 to restore $2 million she proposed for cleaning and securing vacant and nuisance properties across the city, funding that was removed during the budget process.
Bass sent a letter to City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and other council members requesting the money for what the mayor described as priority nuisance properties.
According to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, more than 100 priority vacant nuisance buildings have been identified across the city, Bass said.
“These sites are often blighted, abandoned, and can pose serious public safety risks to the community and the families living nearby,” Bass wrote.
The mayor said she also directed the Department of Building and Safety to identify other properties with trash, debris, dilapidated structures or inactive construction.
Bass included $2 million for vacant and nuisance lots in her proposed 2026-27 city budget, but the funding was removed during the City Council’s budget deliberations, according to the mayor’s office. The council approved a revised budget in May.
“Now, I am calling on the City Council to restore this funding so that we can begin cleaning and securing priority nuisance properties across Los Angeles,” Bass wrote.
The Department of Building and Safety operates a vacant building abatement program for open, vacant, abandoned and vandalized buildings. Under the process, properties can be declared nuisances or hazards following a public hearing. If owners fail to comply with orders to clean, secure, rehabilitate or demolish buildings, the city can arrange for the work to be performed.
The push follows changes to the city’s nuisance-abatement laws approved by the council earlier this year and signed by Bass.
The changes, proposed by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, shortened the time to begin abatement from 30 days to 15 days and the time to complete the work from 90 days to 45 days. They also expanded the city’s authority to address nuisance conditions and recover costs from property owners.
Bass’ request comes days after she visited an abandoned property in Studio City, where a fire broke out last week following complaints from nearby residents. The mayor directed the Department of Building and Safety to pursue a lien against the property to recover city cleanup costs and called for legal action against its owner.
Bass said her office and the Department of Building and Safety are looking at additional ways to strengthen enforcement and allow the city to intervene more quickly at problem properties.
“This is about public safety. This is about improving our neighborhoods. This is about delivering for Angelenos,” Bass wrote. “Please join me in getting this done.”
